Earth Day is around the corner, April 22nd, and we are marking it with a critical webinar on extreme heat. "Heating Up: Special Earth Day Webinar" is scheduled for April 22nd from 7:30-8:30 PM EST/4:30-5:30 PM PST. The webinar will cover what to expect this summer across North America, how to protect yourself and those around you, and what your rights are at work.
It is with mixed emotions that we announce our new scholarship, the Bob Desjarlais Memorial Scholarship. This is a bittersweet moment for all of us.
The scholarship will be an annual $750 prize for SEIU-West members, in addition to the ongoing ten scholarships for members and ten scholarships for children of members.
This scholarship is intended to honour the characteristics that we miss so much about our Staff Rep, Negotiator, and friend, Bob Desjarlais. The successful applicant will be someone who has their co-workers' backs, dedicates their time to fellow union members by being an ally, supports, encourages and defends…in other words, someone who embodies the definition of solidarity.
Applicants must be pursuing an educational program deemed acceptable by the SEIU-West Scholarship Committee. In order to qualify, apply here. Please include the funniest clean joke you know. Bob was a funny guy.
Deadline to apply is November 15th, yearly.
Robert James Desjarlais
December 29, 1954 – March 10, 2021
Bob began his role at SEIU-West on September 6, 2011 and it very quickly became abundantly clear to all of us that Bob had two settings – laughing hysterically at his own jokes, or steamrolling anything interfering with someone’s well-being. I say “role” rather than “job” because for Bob, this was never a job, it was a calling. He had a role to play and it went well beyond office hours and members and employers. He had one focus, and one only – solidarity. And every available opportunity was spent advancing that cause. For Bob, solidarity wasn’t only about trade unionism. Solidarity is what the family needed, what co-workers needed, what the curling rink needed, and really what the world needed.
Bob was truly a hero of the working class. He dedicated his career, maybe his life, to workers. But his greatest love was his family. He was the father of three sons and a daughter, Kris, Steve, Pat, and Addison. He was the most loving husband to Christie, albeit the husband with the most god-awful ugly golf pants.
Bob was the consummate co-worker and direct report. Anything that needed doing, he was good for it. He didn’t even need to be prepped – he was BORN fighting. His moral compass was second to none and he made sure everyone else’s got adjusted accordingly.
Bob loved us all and we loved him. He will always be one of us, and we will forever miss him.
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On April 10, 2026 we lost the most boisterously dedicated servant of the working class this country has ever seen. Bob was an absolute force and he used his superpowers tirelessly decade after decade to further his “personal” agendas of labour rights, women’s rights, occupational health and safety, and above all else, solidarity!
Over 100 workers at Saskatoon’s Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) were laid off as of 5 p.m. Thursday, April 9. This included 76 SEIU-West members in youth group homes, family support services, and PHR’s education department, who were preparing to negotiate their first collective agreement with PHR.